PBS KIDS and member stations across the country dive into summer with new programming, digital resources, community activities and more for the whole family
Arlington, VA, May 15, 2019 – To help bridge the summer learning gap and encourage curiosity and exploration throughout the summer months, PBS KIDS invites kids, parents and educators to have fun while they learn with new programming, resources and events for the whole family. With a new special from READY JET GO!, the highly anticipated premiere of PBS KIDS’ newest animated series MOLLY OF DENALI, and the unveiling of an updated PBS KIDS for Parents website filled with hands-on family activities, there are fun summer learning opportunities for everyone. READY JET GO!: ONE SMALL STEP and MOLLY OF DENALI will premiere on PBS stations (check local listings) and the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel, and will stream on pbskids.org and the free PBS KIDS Video App.
Across the country, local PBS member stations will host READY JET GO! and MOLLY OF DENALI events to connect children to the series through hands-on learning activities.
“Research demonstrates the importance of supporting kids’ learning throughout the summer months,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, Children’s Media and Education, PBS. “That’s why every year, PBS KIDS and member stations nationwide offer families resources that bridge the summer learning gap through curiosity-driven learning. This summer, we’re thrilled to offer a full slate of educational and engaging content and activities that encourage kids and parents to play and learn together.”
To help parents and caregivers build upon the educational opportunities presented in these series and more, PBS KIDS is unveiling the new PBS KIDS for Parents site, making thousands of free resources available to the adults in children’s lives. The site includes articles, tips, activities and materials connected to fans’ favorite shows, and relevant topics organized by program curriculum and target ages. All summer long, the site will invite families to “Camp PBS KIDS,” where kids and parents can explore topics like space, reading, weather, cooking with math, world cultures, outdoor fun and more together.
PBS KIDS Summer Learning Program Details
Check local listings. Images and additional programming information are available on PBS PressRoom.
READY JET GO!: ONE SMALL STEP
Premieres and streams June 17
Jet and the gang have a fun night planned with a sleepover in Jet’s backyard, mini-golf, and star-gazing—after all, it’s the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing! When Jet reveals that he’s built a brand new super saucer that can take all the kids (and Sunspot) to the Moon, they HAVE to test it out. After a rough landing, the kids realize that a part of the saucer is broken. With Celery and Carrot’s permission, they decide to have their sleepover on the Moon, but after falling asleep they notice Jet and Sunspot have disappeared! Sydney stays behind to work on the saucer while Sean and Mindy venture out to find their friends.
In addition to the new special, a new app, READY JET GO! Space Scouts, will also launch in June. Space Scouts includes 5 games, each fostering kids’ science and engineering skills through building of rovers and astronaut bases; designing and planning missions, and growing gardens across the solar system.
MOLLY OF DENALI
Premieres and streams July 15
Produced by WGBH Boston, the newest PBS KIDS series, MOLLY OF DENALI, will premiere July 15 as the first nationally distributed children’s series in the U.S. to feature a Native American lead character. MOLLY OF DENALI follows 10-year-old Molly Mabary, her dog Suki and her friends Tooey and Trini on their daily adventures, from fishing and building snow forts, to delivering a camera to friends on a volcano via dog sled. Designed to help kids ages 4-8 develop knowledge and skills for interacting with informational texts, the series uses books, field guides, historical archives, maps, charts, posters and more to enhance each of Molly’s adventures. The Molly of Denali website and digital games will also launch in July, followed by the Molly of Denali mobile app in August, through which kids will use informational text to fish for salmon, create beaded designs and care for sled dogs. A podcast prequel to the series from WGBH, in partnership with PRX and Gen-Z Media, will also be available on mollyofdenalipodcast.org and on your favorite podcast app starting May 30.
About PBS KIDS
PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, offers children ages 2-8 the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television, digital media and community-based programs. PBS KIDS and local stations across the country support the entire ecosystem in which children learn, including their teachers, parents and community. Provided by stations, the free PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream is available to more than 95% of U.S. TV households. Kidscreen- and Webby Award-winning pbskids.org provides engaging interactive content, including digital games and streaming video. PBS KIDS offers mobile apps to help support young children’s learning, including the PBS KIDS Video app, which is available on a variety of mobile devices and on platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Chromecast. PBS KIDS also offers parent and teacher resources to support children’s learning anytime and anywhere. For more information on PBS KIDS content and initiatives supporting school readiness and more, visit pbs.org/pressroom, or follow PBS KIDS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About Wind Dancer
In addition to READY JET GO!, Wind Dancer Films is the creator and producer of such family television series Home Improvement along with box office successes such as What Women Want and Bernie. The company, headed by partners Dete Meserve, David McFadzean and Matt Williams, recently completed What Men Want for Paramount Pictures, the feature film Good Sam for Netflix and is in production on the animated preschool series Not a Box and the stop-motion series entitled Storywoods. www.winddancer.com
About WGBH
WGBH is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the Web, including Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, Pinkalicious & Peterrific and more than a dozen other prime-time, lifestyle, and children’s series. WGBH also is a major source of digital content and programs for public radio through PRI/PRX, including The World and Innovation Hub; a leader in educational multimedia with PBS LearningMedia™, providing the nation’s educators with free, curriculum-based digital content; and a pioneer in services that make media accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired audiences. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors, including Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and Oscars. More info at www.wgbh.org
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Contact:
Lubna Abuulbah, PBS KIDS; 703-739-8463; labuulbah@pbs.org
Olivia Gust, Allison+Partners; 503-290-7304; PBS@allisonpr.com
Gabrielle Torello, Grand Communications; 917-312-2832; gab@grandcommunications.com
